Song
by PhantomLilac
Summary: Erik promises to return to Christine after a night beneath a moonless sky. He leaves her protectively with the Giry's to run a little errand...and never comes back. Six months later, Christine is still is determined to find her missing lover. A fateful trip to Raoul's manor may uncover the secret behind the Phantom's disappearance, and a past romance from Persia unfurls...
1. Chapter 1 - Begin Again

I snuggled my face into my pillow, wrapping my arms protectively around my swollen stomach.

A night beneath a moonless sky had left me with child. A night after I annulled my engagement with Raoul.

"I'm coming right back, Christine. I love you," was all my Angel had said after escorting me to the Giry's. And yet, he never came back.

It's been 6 months now and I know now that Erik wasn't coming back. I don't think he ever will.

"Wake up, Christine. Breakfast is ready." Meg said. Her eyes were round and sympathetic as she nudged me. She wrapped her arm underneath mine, helping me out of bed as I was weak and tired.

We slowly went down the hall, hand in hand.

"Christine...I'm sorry." Meg whispered. I shook my head.

"I love him, Meg. But I can't help but feel something terrible has happened to him. He loved me too. He wouldn't change his mind and give up so easily." I replied. She nodded grimly, before pulling out a chair for me to sit.

"Thanks," I mumbled depressingly. My shoulders gently bonked against the table as I picked up a fork and carefully ate my crepes when the baby stirred, startling me. I dropped the utensil and it clattered back on the plate.

"Are you alright?" Madame Giry, who was like a mother to me, asked, rushing to my side.

Tears began to form in my eyes as I smiled daintily.

"Baby made his first kick." I replied, biting my pink lip as they dripped down my cheek.

My child made his first kick, and Erik wasn't here to see this. Erik should be here. I needed him. He needed me.

Madame Giry carefully wiped my tears away.

"Don't cry, Christine, don't cry...I know that one day, wherever he is, he is fighting hard to come back to you. I know this."

"I want to name my child Erik, if he never comes back, I want a piece of him with me." I murmured.

There was a loud knock on the door seconds later.

Meg opened the door, which was meters away from the table. Raoul was in the doorway. I stared at my half-eaten crepes, not wanting to see my former friend's face.

"Can I talk to Christine?"

I sighed softly, having help to rise up.

"Yes, Raoul, what do you need?"

His eyes judgmentally looked at me from top to bottom. He must've noticed I was pregnant. I hardened my gaze to warn him if he dare ask who the father was. I knew he could tell just by a glance.

Instead, he drew out a ring, the same one he'd proposed to me with.

"Oh Christine," he murmured, "Will you give me a second chance?"

I hesitated.

"No." was all needed be said. He hurtfully frowned. I instantly somewhat regretted my words. With Raoul I could be happy, and raise this child with a loving father.

But I couldn't. Raoul would never love my baby Erik. He would never love it because it wasn't his.

"Well. If you need some guidance or some support, Christine, you know where my manor is."

With that, he left, head drooping down, and leaving me in a bit of grief myself.

I decided I would pay him a visit come tomorrow morning.


	2. Chapter 2 - Regrets and Truth

When I arrived in Raoul's house, everything was quiet. It was quiet, and that was okay, for when I looked in the living room, my ex-fiancee was passed out on the couch. I sighed sharply. Was Raoul ever not drunk these days?

I shook my head diligently, beginning to wander. Raoul wouldn't mind, would he? He's never been angry with me before.

I walked past the long, rigid halls decked with bright, cheery paintings that only worsened my mood. As soon as I was through a door, a maid stopped me.

"Miss Daae, pleasure to see you on the estate again. Might I show you around the redecorated rooms? The viscount chose some in your honor. Especially the basement."

It was Patty, my favorite maid from when I was engaged to Raoul. I smiled though I was filled with distaste. Raoul was too desperate. I didn't even know why I came...

No. I knew why. Something was different about Raoul. I knew in my heart he was somehow linked to Erik's odd disappearance. And I would get to the bottom of it.

Even if I had to travel far away across every ocean, I would never give up!

"Of course. Show me around this alleged basement of his." I replied with a warming smile. Patty gleefully grinned, beginning to head back the way I had come.

Every step and word I drowned out with nods and simple things like "of course" or "interesting." Patty was a bit...dimwitted and would never know I wasn't paying attention.

We reached the birch doorway, and I stared down at the long, rigid staircase. Oh god...it was so far down. Whatever he is hiding would be worth it.

"Alright, show me down." I asked.

"Yes, of course, Miss!" Patty chirped, then in a loquacious daze began to chatter along down the stairway. When we reached the bottom, it was really, really dark.

I squinted, coughing awkwardly as dust hit my nostrils. Patty lit a candle, still in her bucktoothed grin.

"Before I show all the guests his prized trophy room, shall I show you his paintings?"

I hated dilly-dallying, but if it was a step closer to Erik I could stomach it. I smiled and nodded as usual.

"This one here is a repaint of a Mona Lisa! It is a very amazing-"

Again, I began to ignore, just observing carefully even though I was bored out of m my mind. I bit back a groan as Patty continued her talking.

We reached the trophy room at last. Everything was shiny and sparkly...gold, silver, platinum...even some diamond! I gasped in marvel. Raoul never shown me this! Then again, Raoul never really showed me anything.

As I admired his game and his medals...something bright and white caught my eye, taking me aback by surprise.

I was staring at Erik's mask, hanging by a nail in the wall. Wet, hot tears began to flow down my eyes.

Raoul had done something to him. Raoul had probably killed him and never told me! My heart wrenched and turned black with hatred. Raoul! This was all his fault, leaving my child fatherless! I hated him! I HATED HIM!

Before Patty could stop me, I ripped it off its mantle and held it to my heart, sniffling a moment, before kissing it softly. It smelt of him faintly, still. Just faintly, and I hoped now my tears wouldn't wash that bit of him away.

I marched back up the stairs, hurrying back the living room and pausing in front of the fop himself. He stirred and blinked, then his eyes popped as he noticed what I was holding.

"How could you, Raoul!? How could you kill him!?" I sobbed uncontrollably. He straightened himself, backing away slowly.

"Now, Christine, listen to me. I didn't kill your deformed plaything. I took his mask, that's all..."

"Where is he? Where is he!?"

Raoul sighed, and when he didn't answer I walked up and slapped him upside the face. He still didn't react emotionally.

"I sent him off. Told him to leave Paris and leave you. I didn't expect you to well..." he murmured, gesturing to my stomach. Insulted, I punched him in the chest though it would have no effect.

"Raoul, you bloody monster! Where did you send him to?" I screamed. He didn't fight back, but I could hear the grief and regret in his voice.

"I sent him to America."

.::.

When I got home, to the Giry's estate where I had been staying for my past few months, I threw myself to the bed, still holding the mask and crying so hard that I was practically choking on oxygen.

Meg was immediately at my side, rubbing my back.

"We're gonna take you to Erik, okay? Christine, it's going to be okay...shh..." She didn't leave my side until I had fallen asleep.

In the morning I awoke again, screaming for Erik to save me from my nightmares. Instead it was Madame Giry who was my rescuer.

"Christine, it's okay. We're leaving immediately, pack your things. You won't need to suffer any longer." she cooed. I was helped out of bed, and the empathy and motherly love I felt coming off of Madame Giry eased my nerves and biggest fears.

For what Erik left behind, Madame Giry and Meg worked very hard to replace.

"Thank you, Madame. I appreciate what you've done for me. I wish I could make it up, somehow," I murmured, feeling a bit drained. She smiled.

"It's okay, Christine. Relax. We have tickets for the boat immediately leaving in a few hours. Let's be the firsts on it. The quicker we're there, the faster we get to your Erik."

And we were on that first boat to sail. I had to see him now that I know he's alive. At least, I hope...


	3. Chapter 3 - The Phantom

**Erik**

I awoke before dawn, ready to leave my Christine forever. Something tugged at my heartstrings, though.

I couldn't just leave her...

No! Here was my selfishness again! In despair, I began pacing back and forth past her sleeping figure. We had only made love in the dark...what would she think if she awoke and she knew I'd seen her naked as my eyes had readjusted?

I had made my decision as soon as I heard a knock on the door.

"Open up, demon! You have her in there!" a loud boom echoed from behind the elm. It was the Vicomte! Oh lord...

In a flash, I shook my love awake.

"Huh...Erik...get back in bed." she teasingly moaned, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. I threw her a nightgown.

"We're leaving, get dressed." I growled back. Within seconds she had woken herself back up, throwing the gown over her body.

"Why? What's happening?" she asked, a bit louder. I put a finger over her lips to silence her as the knocking came up again.

"Christine? Are you in there? Fight off the blasted Phantom for now while I break down the door!"

She gasped, recognizing Raoul immediately, before she allowed me to scoop her in my arms. With my foot, I pushed open the large mirror, carrying her through and letting her stand as I went back to lock it. I shut it carefully, pulling her back into my grasp.

"It will be okay, Christine. I'm not leaving you for him." I whispered. She trembled as the sound of a door busting open faintly sounded from underneath their hideaway.

"Damn it! They escaped through the window!" Raoul screeched.

Once more, I picked up my lover into my arms, carrying her like a babe through the tunnel to escape to the Giry's...

I left her with them. I had to find Nadir and alert him if he were to cross paths with Raoul. I had no doubt that the Vicomte would interrogate my friend.

"Erik...please, don't leave me here. Promise you'll come back...Promise!" she had cried. With a nervous smile, I wiped away her tears before pressing my lips to hers.

"I'm going to check up on my idiot friend Nadir. He's too stupid to be able to escape your boy if they crossed paths." I sarcastically joked, but I grimaced when she didn't faze.

"I love you, Christine. Hey, don't cry...your Angel will be back in an hour or two. I promise you I will be okay."

She forced herself to smile, but I saw nothing but grief in her eyes.

"Okay. Be safe." she murmured.

I then fled down the the alleyway. The only scary thing was, I knew that Nadir lived very close to the manor of the deChangey family. I scowled slightly as I slipped into the shadows near the subtle, mossy apartment. He was fortunately on the lowest floor. I would surely give my position away if I clambered up stairs.

I carefully hit my fist against the door as not to disturb any others closeby. The door opened and before Nadir could answer, I walked in.

Instead I found Nadir's hands bound by one of Raoul's thugs. Before you knew it, my hands were being forced behind my back, mask being ripped off and a dark, black one being thrown on instead.

"Damn you, Raoul! Damn you to hell!" I screamed, struggling to get free. The Vicomte sniggered in my face, his blue eyes glimmering in a reflection to mine.

"I have two options for you, so you listen closely..." he crooned. I exchanged a glance with Nadir, whose mouth was gagged back.

"Either I send you away with a good amount of money to ensure you stay away from Christine...or I kill both of you, quick and easy..."

"You'd kill Christine!?" I gasped, dishearteningly shocked. He threw his head back and laughed.

"You thought I loved her, did you, Phantom? No, I just liked her pretty face. I would've killed her after she gave me a few heirs anyways. I don't need her. But she doesn't need a corpse either!"

He kicked me in the stomach, making me yelp in astonishment. All the wind was knocked out of my lungs, leaving me gasping for breath. By my wig he yanked me back up.

"Make your choice!" he howled mockingly.

I knew he would keep his word if I should dare to refuse.

"I'll go. Please...I'll go! Just don't harm her." I whimpered.

"Of course. Boys, send him to America-"

.::.

"CHRISTINE!" I screamed, waking from my nightmare and flailing like a fish on my bed. My whole body ached with blistering heat, and Nadir pinned me down again and forced me to drink more water. A wet towel was placed over my forehead.

"Erik, she's gone! She's not here!" my comrade snapped, "And if you keep screaming you'll worsen your fever!"

I forced myself to calm down, and requested the windows opened. Nadir sighed, but then shakily granted my request.

I stared out at the moon, smiling in a delusional manner as darkness began to fade over my eyes again.

"Goodnight, my Christine. Love never dies." I murmured, before I fainted again.

**Well now we know where Erik is! What do you think will happen next? Will they be reunited again, or will some other twisted fate occur... Please review. I read every single one and it brings a smile to my face and helps me keep writing :)**


	4. Chapter 4 - Dear Old Friends

**Christine**

I began the search for Erik among the streets of a newer, half-finished colossal park called Phantasma.

I passed freaks, jugglers, and to my surprise, gypsies. Every one of them I asked if they had seen a man in a white mask, and all shook their heads. But then again, I doubted Erik would travel in broad daylight. He wasn't that type.

What type was he? I daren't say freak. More...magician, I guess, but I saw, oddly, no magicians wandering around. Unless the magicians are the freaks. I shuddered at the thought of Erik working in one of these sideshows. Poor, poor Erik, having to show his face to paying customers.

"So Meg," I turned to her, only to realize she was munching hungrily down on a cotton candy stick. My own stomach was rumbling. Time to eat, I decided.

"Yeah, Chrissy?" she mumbled through sticky pink mouthfuls. She was enjoying herself, and for once in these dark months I laughed.

"Can I have one too?" I asked, eyes brightening. She nodded, and she handed me one still in the wrapper. I was starving, and I gulped it down hungrily. I was still in awe with this place. It was magical.

Then I saw something peculiar. Those jade eyes, the olive skin, and the turban. It was Nadir Khan, who I knew was my Erik's friend. He looked worried, and was desperately looking around for something.

"There! It's Nadir! Meg, we have to go after him, where he is, Erik is!" I shouted. I knew I was in no condition to run, but I did. I gave chase, even though Nadir didn't realize I was after him. He was fast at walking, and I had to catch up...I would lose him otherwise.

"Nadir! Nadir!" I called. Suddenly, at the edge of the crowd, he halted and turned my way, but so quickly that I bumped right into him, knocking him over. I gasped and helped him to his feet.

"I'm so sorry, Mister Khan." I quickly mumbled, but I realized he was lost for words and in shock.

"Uh...Christine!? Why aren't you with Raoul? Don't tell me that son of a gun is here with you!" he snapped.

I shook my head.

"I am not engaged to Raoul nor do I desire to be. Erik, where is he?"

To my alarm, he shrugged casually, though I could sense the tense fear.

"He's coming down with a fever and wandered from our joint home. He's losing his memory, Christine. I have to find him..." Nadir explained, then began to walk off.

"Wait. Let me help. Please. I'm pregnant with his child, maybe I could stir his memory." I calmly murmured, though I'm sure I sounded like a madman with my desperate cry.

He patted my back, smile brightening.

"Of course, Miss Daae."

Meg and Madame Giry breathlessly caught up to us by now. Madame Giry gave not a word, only a wheeze of exhaustion, while Meg and Nadir affectionately gazed at each other. Wait...what? I had never seen any interaction between Meg or Nadir. Oh well. Didn't bother me. I had to find Erik.

We roamed the streets, calling names out.

"Erik!" "Angel!"

We all stopped again for air. We had been all over most of Phantasma...

No, there. There was someone covered in a long, droopy coat, and a familiar fedora, lying coldly against the alleyway and not moving, as if they were long dead.

Nadir cautiously approached first, hand reached out for the hat. Before it reached the soft, velvety rim...

The hand grabbed Nadir's wrist, the face lifting. It was Erik, but he wasn't the same. He was hollow, barren, mad, and scarier than he had been as a Phantom. Tears came rushing to my eyes. I couldn't find words to show my grief.

"N-nadir..." he croaked, before his eyelids fluttered shut and he twitched every now and then. The Persian lifted Erik's arm, wrapping it around his strong neck and lifting him to his feet, half-dragging him.

"We're going to have guests, but I need to take you home first. Erik, what have you done?" Nadir choked in horror, realizing that my Angel's hip was stained with scarlet blood. How I wanted to scream at him, hug him, and cry in his arms, but I didn't even know if he recognized me. He hadn't looked my way at all.

After Nadir had left the room, he continued talking to the Giry's, but kind of kept his distance from me. I understood why. He knew I was grieving...so terribly grieving, for my Erik.

As he was busy chatting, I slipped away into the way he had taken Erik away. I wanted to sit with him, hold his hand, make sure Nadir bandaged his wound correctly.

As I entered silently, I grabbed Erik's cold, twitching fingertips gently.

I kissed his knuckles gently, like I always had before. He stirred, but his amber eyes were covered with a glaze of utter confusion and delusional stupor as they lulled in a blank position.

"Nadir?" he moaned. I kissed his wrist now.

"No, Erik. It's your Christine. I'm with you now." I murmured.

He frowned disbelievingly.

What he said next left me baffled.

"Christine is back in Paris...with her boy...because boy said if Erik and Nadir left, he wouldn't kill Christine..."

I stroked every one of his wispy grey hairs on his forehead, trying to remain calm.

"I'm not dead, Erik. I'm right here. I missed you."

"Erik loves Christine..." he whispered, before his eyes closed again, and he left me alone here in his bedroom at his side.

I knew Erik wouldn't have gone willingly. I knew Raoul had made some bargain, and Erik's rambling groans proved my theory correct. Now I had found my Angel of Music, and he would get a chance to raise his son himself.


	5. Chapter 5 - Matter of Time

I awoke the next day to a very, very baffling argument. I had lain in bed until the crack of dawn when the baby kicked me. Only then I had decided to intervene whatever was going on down the hall.

I rubbed my dreary eyelids until all the sleep was gone. As I approached the voices, they became clearer.

"Goddamned, Nadir! I said I need opium! And NOW!" it was Erik's voice, thank heavens he wasn't speaking in third person again. But opium? What did he need that for? Don't tell me he's addicted now, or if this is a past memory.

"Erik, you stopped using opium a long time ago. It'll damage your voice. We aren't in Persia!" Nadir spat back.

"Don't you argue with me, Daroga. You may be fooled but the Khanum never fools me! I AM DON JUAN TRIUMPHANT!"

I shuddered at his words, peeking around the corner. The two's faces were bright red, hands clenched until they were pale and tight. I walked right up in between and frowned.

"Oh, and who is this?" Erik crooned, face twisting with disgust, "another 'gift' from the Shah?"

Nadir threw his head back and laughed hysterically. Everything lifted for him. How would he find this funny?

I crossed my arms.

"I am not a prostitute, Erik. I'm your fiancee! Don't you remember anything?" I growled. Erik's face, even under the odd, new black mask, turned into that of confusion. His amber eyes flickered into self-doubt and fear.

He looked to Nadir, who nodded in response. My face brimmed with hope as I smiled.

"She is delusional." my fiancee snarled, then fiercely stalked away like an unkempt house cat. In fact, he was moving so much like a cat I could almost picture a long, slender black tail sweeping out from his back.

The door slammed and locked behind Erik. I sighed, running my hand against every notch in the white door, before murmuring, "Come get breakfast when you're ready."

Nadir smiled to Meg, who just woke up from the bang, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"So I was thinking, why don't we have a nice big breakfast? In toast to Christine's soon-to-be child and to Meg and I's engagement?" he mused.

"Oh Meg! How wonderful!" I cried in joy. My blonde friend squealed with excitement.

"I know, we're so happy. Don't worry. Erik will come around and help you raise the child."

I shrugged.

"I have my doubts, but I think he'll pull through if I can think of something to spark his memories back-"

"DELUSIONAL, I SAY!" Erik screeched from behind his door. All of us chuckled when he was through, for we all knew his extreme condition and that it was a trick of his mind. All would be okay.

.::.

Change of mind. Things don't look so hot. It's been almost 9 months of pregnancy. Erik has stopped declining but isn't bouncing back. With a child on tow...I can't raise it without a father. I can't go back to Raoul but without Erik I am alone.

I was sitting out on the patio, rubbing my stomach gently. It was the last day of Phantasma season. Meg, Nadir, and Madame Giry have been running it to cover for Erik, but I begin to fear...he won't ever be the same Erik again.

I try to keep that at the back of my mind.

_"You have to name him Gustave! It's perfect, your papa would be so proud." Meg shrilled._

_I smiled warmly, but my thoughts were a bit at dismay._

_"I want to have a baby Gustave, but what if it's a girl?" I fretted._

_"I doubt it'll be a girl, but if it is, I say Elizabeth. It's beautiful, is it not?" my friend sighed gently._

_I swayed a bit as she caught my arm, helping me across the room._

_"Yes of course. Elizabeth is nice, but what about Lucinda? Lucinda or Gustave."_

"Uhh. Christine?"

I blinked away from my memory to see Erik gawkily standing a yard or two away from my position in the white lawn chair. He put his hand to his back, and he was kind of nervous.

"Yes, dearest Erik?" He blushed.

"I've been kind of...insensitive. Would you walk with me to the park? I won't let you fall, since you're with child."

I didn't bother to try to tell him it was his. He was in denial the last time I attempted that. He told me the Shah had probably sold me out to someone else, but I think he now realized that this wasn't a trick of Persia.

"Of course." I replied happily, letting him help me to my feet. As we began our walk down the road, I noticed that there was only a little sunshine peeking out of the grey clouds. Snow would fall sometime today.

He seemed a bit tense as he had my arm tucked in his gentlemanly hold. Every now and then I could feel his muscles tighten or loosen, as if he were a boa constrictor. I shook it off as we sat on the only sunny part of the big green hill. I relaxed, listening to the distant birds chirping away happily, probably tucking in for winter weather.

"Look Christine," Erik finally said with a sigh, "I don't think you're crazy, but I don't understand why you insist we've known each other for so long. I don't remember a thing about you, I only remember my childhood and then Pers-" he cut himself off with a trembling quality.

"It's fine, Erik." I murmured, but he interjected again.

"No! It's not okay. If what you say is true and we were lovers, I don't want to not ever know my own child or its mother!" he detested sharply, stunning me.

"Okay...okay...calm down. We will figure out a way to get your memory back. Start humming a song you know?"

He seemed stooped by my suggestion. His look screamed, "Why should I hum a song? Are you stupid?" but I tried not to draw attention to it.

I listened closely as he, instead with arrogance, began to sing.

_"Past the point of no return...the final threshold..."_

Memories swirled through me, and immediately I was enraptured in the tune. I was Marguerite and he was my Don Juan, his amber eyes glowing with such amazing passion that everything inside me melted. I had to fuse our voices into one pure melody!

_"The bridge is crossed so stand and watch it burn! Beyond the point of no return..."_

He himself seemed in shock as we ended our beautiful song. A beautiful song of his creation...written for me to perform for him. Now is where we would have kissed at the end of the song, but instead there was cold draft wavering over my lips. I shivered as I realized that a few stray snowflakes had already collected on my shoulders.

"We should get back, it's getting cold." I decided, beginning to stand. I batted the cold white drops from my eyelashes, turning away, until I realized his hand was on my shoulder.

"Let me warm you then."

A kiss. A kiss of such divine creation was placed upon my lips, his wanting hands wrapping around my waist, careful not to disturb the growing child of our creation. When we finally pulled away, we were again drenched in that dreadful silence.

Then pain seared through my stomach like a burning fire, making me collapse in his arms. The last thing I heard was,

"Christine! NO!" before everything was swallowed in unforgiving darkness.


	6. Chapter 6 - Forevermore, Nevermore

"Lucinda, hold...still!" I grumbled as the four-year-old child refused to sit still. She squirmed until Meg came to my side to help me.

"Here. Let me try," she purred. Lucinda sat perfectly still, making me wonder what exactly happened when I left Meg in babysitting duty?

"Good girl, Lucinda. I'll give you a sweet later," Meg added when she was finished fastening the little lilac shoes onto the child's feet.

"Not too many, please, Meg. This is a wedding, we best behave." I murmured.

It had taken a while for Erik and I to decide to get married. There were varying reasons that we both agreed on. Raoul was one of them. If I were to wed "Mister Y", then the press would want in, and I know Raoul always reads the newspaper. He would be furious.

Another was unwanted attention from fans or visitors to the park. And then there was the children. Yes, children. We had two, as I had planned, Lucinda was the oldest, and Gustave was the youngest.

Gustave's birth was the setting stone for a wedding. Finally we settled down and today was my wedding day.

Meg in a flurry began to check every inch of my dress for snags, tears, etc. I laughed and so did the children. Meg in fact had a child now with Nadir who was a year younger than Lucinda. Her name was ironically Elizabeth. We all lived together in a probably oversized house near a corner of Coney Island, large fenced gates and plenty of room for incoming and outgoing children.

"You look perfect, Christine. Come on!" she tugged at my arm, but for some reason I suddenly felt like crying.

"Papa should be walking me down the aisle...I wish he were here. He would have thought Erik was charming. Maybe even more charming than Raoul." I whimpered. Before I could cry, Meg wrapped herself around me in a hug. Her little blue eyes shone with sympathy.

"Your papa would have done all of those things. He is here with you, watching you with pride. Now, don't ruin your special day with sadness," she chirped, "let's go. Erik's waiting!"

.::.

**Erik**

I stood impatiently from my place beside Nadir, wondering where in the world Christine was. I twitched uncomfortably, with two fingers tugging anxiously at my neck collar.

"Patience, my friend. They'll be out soon." Nadir whispered from beside me. I quietly moaned with sadness.

"I bet she ran away. Just like I did my mother. I wonder if my mother is up there now...watching us. I hope not." I mumbled.

"Erik, she didn't run away. Look." Nadir chucked back. I lifted up brightly as I noticed Christine just now entering, arm locked with Meg's, as she walked down the aisle in the most stunning lacy white dress I had ever seen her in. I'm not sure why I was stunned, for I had seen her in it before, in my lair. But this time...this time it was all fixed up, probably hired a tailor.

But there she was in her brilliant veil, her chocolate curls like silk flowing towards her waist and decked with white flowers. I fought back tears of joy.

She stood beside me for the longest time, our eyes gleaming with happiness the whole time.

"Erik Mulheim, do you take Christine Daae to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

I hadn't heard him at first, I was lost in her eyes before she nudged me.

"Oh yes. I do."

I could hear Nadir stifling another laugh before Meg silenced him.

"Christine Daae, do you take Erik Mulheim to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

I cringed on the inside. What if she said no? What if she rejected me here, and ran away to Raoul like she had last time?

"I do."

Relief fluttered through my chest, and the feelings of doubt faded far away. The priest closed his book.

"You may kiss the bride." he finished.

I leaned forward, not hesitating once, to claim her lips. She was mine! She was mine and nobody else's. Not Raoul, not that rapist Buquet, nor anyone's ever. Christine and I were married...and bound for joy forevermore.

We returned home and tucked the children into bed. Christine kissed my cheek once before asking me to sit down in a reclining chair from the living room. At last she sat across from me.

"Now that we're married, Erik, we must be honest with each other," she began a bit nervously.

"Of course." I replied, a bit baffled by her sudden change in attitude.

"I don't want the children to fear their father, so tell me first...why did you kill Josef Buquet and Ubaldo Piangi all those years ago?"

I stiffened, a fatal blow hitting me and leaving me to die. She could've asked me any time...why today? Why after our day of happiness and true love?

"Christine...I did not kill them without good reason-"

"Like...what?" she detested.

"Well...I...uh..." I grew a bit uneasy, knowing she would not like what she would hear.

"Please Erik, just tell me." she murmured.

"Rape. Josef Buquet planned on raping you. I was checking on you from the mirror when I realized there was a small, nearly unnoticeable hole in one of the eyes of a painting on your wall. And I went through another room to peer in, and it was Josef Buquet and his drunken friends planning an assault after Il Muto." I admitted quickly, wishing I had closed my mouth.

Her eyes widened, then filled with unnecessary tears. Why was she crying over something in the past? Nothing from the Opera House bothered me anymore, why was she so shaken?

"And...Ubaldo?" she murmured with a wavering voice strained with tears. I bit my lip before I continued.

"Ubaldo tried to kill me when he saw that I had taken a Don Juan costume and attempted to silently take his place. When he had the knife near my throat, I quickly turned it around and pierced his first before he could commit the crime."

Her hands went over her mouth in an inaudible gasp. Everything went quiet, so I bowed my head in shame.

"So now you know."

I walked away from the room.


	7. Chapter 7 - Wish You Could Forget

**A/N: Yes, this is loosely based on Susan Kay's Phantom. I have altered time so it makes a lot more sense.**

**First person to guess what musical characters Soraya and her son are based off of will be mentioned in the next chapter as Lucinda's classmate. Ready? Set? GO!**

**Meg**

I poured myself some tea, being careful with the little cream we had left. I needed to buy some more, I decided, before walking over to the living room where Christine was fixing a little purple hair bow onto Lucinda. It was the kiddo's first day at pre-school, and the child was bouncing with excitement. I couldn't wait until next year when Elizabeth would start school.

Of course, I would be going with Christine into town today. Coney Island wasn't all full of freaks, there was a good and a bad half. Most of the less "freak" children went to the good half's schools, the others being home-schooled or not being taught at all. Reality was corrupt.

I expected my best friend to be happy, but instead she seemed hurt and distressed.

"What's the matter, Christine? Somethin' happen between you and Erik?" I asked. Her face drained of color.

"Lucinda, go to the kitchen and pour yourself some cereal before we go." she ordered with a final brush through the girl's blonde hair. Lucinda scampered away.

"I never knew why Erik killed Buquet or Piangi. So I asked him...he did it...he did it to protect us and let me believe it was out of cold blood all this time. I feared him for saving my life and I never knew." she sniffled. I didn't know why she was so upset, I mean, I knew the whole time why.

I sat beside her and sighed.

"Erik had accomplices to fire the opera managers." I admitted wryly.

"No. You and Madame Giry!?" she gasped. I nodded.

"I made the Red Death costume with Maman, and Nadir tied the loops for Buquet and Raoul to hang them with."

Her face cringed with unforeseen tears, her lips twisting back into a nervous wiggle before they began to stream down her cheeks.

I patted Christine's back gently.

"And none of you thought that maybe...maybe I would understand?" I sniffled. I shook my head and made a sarcastic laugh.

"Actually no, that's the opposite, in fact. You were already engaged to Raoul, so there wasn't much any of us could do to tell you we were involved with Erik's schemes."

Christine wiped away her tears, heartbroken and distressed as Lucinda came back in the room happy as a daisy.

"Come on, Lucinda, let's not be late!" I tried to change the subject. The child didn't notice, as the actress Christine was, my best friend forced a smile on her face and tried to brighten her appearance.

.::.

**Nadir**

A letter was all it takes to change a world. A letter was all it took to alter reality.

And a letter I found in the mail.

_Erik, former master mason from Egypt,_

It began like this, and I stared blankly at the page. This couldn't be good at all. It was 6 years since we came from Persia and Erik had built an underground lair in the Opera House. I had been in the Shah's prison for a year.

Erik passed me down the hall and smirked.

"What's wrong, Daroga. Did Ayesha bite you again?"

Ayesha was Erik's cat, and it was a Siamese that had belonged to the Shah. We had took it with us out of the Opera House and to America. Erik had sneakily taken the bratty cat out of Persia originally, and the evil thing sticked with us every since.

"Ah, nothing. I'm disoriented, I just woke up." I mumbled back.

"You normal people with your 'sleep.' Sleeping is overrated. Well, I have to get to my Ayrie. Bye." with that, Erik scurried out the door. He was in a better mood today. Too chatty. Marriage must've done him some good, but something in his voice undertone was sadness. I would ask him later.

I continued reading.

_We have found your location and expect you and your "Phantasma" to be prepared. I am sending in this boat a child that belongs to you._

Erik, another child? But how? But when?

_His wife, Soraya, will be arriving with the child soon. If any harm comes to either I will send men to eliminate you._

_-The Shah of Persia_

Soraya...now I remember. Soraya, how can this be? I had almost forgotten about the Shah's forced marriage between her and Erik, how passionate the two had been before Erik grew ill and I took advantage to help him escape.

But now he was also married to Christine. I don't remember Soraya being pregnant, but the poor woman would have to learn now that Erik was in love with another. I sighed softly, sucking in air.

Soraya and this child would be his undoing for certain if not handled correctly. How would Christine react? Erik had just wedded her.

Tomorrow I would bring it up to Erik and hope to resolve this oncoming issue. I was less concerned of what it would do to Erik or Christine. I was more worried for this poor girl who had no idea that his heart belonged to another.

.::.

**Erik**

Work was my life. For the first time ever, I knew the only word to describe me was "workaholic." It was no longer "demon" "phantom" or "evil", it was "workaholic." And I much rather preferred this definition than any other.

I arose early in the morning, gasping for breath from another nightmare of my times in Persia. This time it wasn't a dream about beatings, lashings, or assaults that were inflicted upon myself.

I only thought of Soraya, and knowing that one fateful morning she'd wake up and know I wasn't there. I had never told a soul except Nadir about my first romance. I had indeed loved Soraya, but to me now she was more of a far away sister than a full out true love. My heart belonged to Christine.

Yet still in my dreams I was yearning to see her. Her long, straight black hair, her wistful brown eyes. To me, Soraya was no longer a living, breathing wife, just a faded old memory. She was probably dead for all I knew. I wished somehow things might have worked out for the better...she was my first woman to consummate with. The first woman to see past my face.

And again, my heart belonged to Christine. Soraya couldn't alter that.

My day could not get any worse, could it?

Nadir was staring at me when I sat down with tea again. I had work in an hour, and his eyes bore into my every movement as I swirled the little white crystals of sugar into the warm, melting liquid.

"What, Daroga?" I irritably growled. His blank, cold expression didn't alter.

"Do you ever think about Persia?" he asked. Tension seemed to be rising.

"Well, yes-"

"How about Soraya? What all actually did happen between you two?" he continued. I gritted my teeth.

"You have to ask now, don't you? We did as wife and husband did. And I'm sure she's long been dead, with how terrible it is in Persia." I mumbled. Within seconds Nadir was in my face.

"Persian, you are invading my 2 foot diameter of personal space," I scorned, but he continued.

"Did you know she has a child?"

I laughed.

"Shah probably remarried her away to some other high powered official." I joked, but when Nadir's eyebrows raised, my heart lurched.

"You don't think?" I gasped. He nodded. I bit my lip hard, fighting back a yelp of alarm.

"Soraya's coming to Coney, Erik. And she has your child and believes you're still married and in love with her."

"But...Christine..." I cried helplessly. Nadir shook his head sadly.

"You'll have to tell her the truth. She'll understand that you no longer desire Soraya and that your marriage was forced." he calmly suggested.

In defeat, I sighed.

"I will support Soraya and this alleged child as much as I can, but I am not dropping out now that I have a family." I decided uneasily. I could only pray now my family would forgive me for my sin...

.::.

**Soraya**

I hummed gently with the swaying of the boat. My child was trying to go back to sleep. My perfect child, my little Naveed. Naveed was my jewel, my life, and I would give anything to protect him. He was five and very young. Persians did not have many schools, and I was no longer upper class.

I still could remember my Erik, the master mason for the Shah, how we resented each other at first and fell in love in a week after our forced marriage. Shortly after our one week of happiness, he was whisked away, and I haven't seen him since. I bore our son Naveed. I hope Erik is still true to me as I am to him. I knew I had found my soul mate and nothing would tear us apart ever again.

I ruffled Naveed's curly brown locks. Like his papa, he had those wistful amber eyes, and that buttony soft nose. I knew that Naveed would have that french nose...that perfect nose which was one of the few things not deformed on Erik's face.

For I loved Erik, as much as I loved our son. And now we would be together again, one happy family against all odds of the worlds. I would cross stormy sea after stormy sea just to see his face again...that face that despite being hideous on the outside was the most beautiful on the inside, because his heart was more pure than any other's.


	8. Chapter 8 - How, In One Night

**A/N: I changed my mind since no one guessed, that The Newbie Phan will get a mention in this chapter since they are probably my most loyal follower.**

**The correct answers, however, were Kim and Tam from one of my favorite musicals, Miss Saigon. Soraya would correspond to Kim as Naveed to Tam. I'm sure you all caught it with all the little references in her part of the story yesterday. Don't worry if Soraya seems a confusing character! All her past with Erik will become more clear and more understandable as the chapters come out!**

**And please review...I do read every single review and they made me smile and want to write more of my stories. I enjoy every single review and if you have a concern or something you dislike...please let me know and I will give you answers or possibly write down the advice for future stories.**

**Thank you, and happy writings everyone~**

.::.

**Nadir**

I had decided to fetch Soraya myself and take her and this child to Erik in the afternoon. It was only reasonable that his best friend help him out, and the fact I'm his best friend makes it completely logical I carry out this task. Plus, Soraya knew who I was.

I waited at the port patiently for her to arrive, knowing the burden of truth lay in a pit of lies on my heavy shoulders.

.::.

**Erik**

"You deserved to know," I finished to my wife. Christine sat in awestruck, but then determination filtered through her emotions, taking me by surprise.

"I don't hate you, Erik. You've lived a tough life and this woman and child are a part of you, too. I agree on supporting this child, if it's yours I will love him or her just as much as my own, but what about the mother? We'll have to see to that they get sent somewhere safer like England where it'll be easier to pay child support without them interfering with our daily lives." she replied.

"Christine, I want to be a part of this child's life...but I don't know how I can still be with Soraya. I love her more like a sister, but you are my one and only true love, darling." I cupped her face and kissed her cheek gently, to which she smiled.

"We'll figure it out, okay honey?" She smiled. On cue I decided to ask her about Lucinda to change the subject entirely.

"So how was Lucinda at school today?"

"She said was having fun with her new friend. Newton Fann, was it? Anyways, I was thinking for dinner later tonight, since we'll have company-"

She was cut off by abrupt knocking, which sent chills up my spine as I realized it was Doctor Gangle.

"Mister Y! One of the automatons has gone haywire and exploded in the park! Come quickly!" he yelled. I brushed off my coat and put it on.

"Christine, I'll be right back!" I quickly dejected. She nodded, recognizing the grimness in my voice.

I would be back on time to see Soraya and sort this all out.

.::.

**Soraya**

"Look, Naveed! America!" I joyfully announced to my son. In his small, innocent state, he smiled.

"Is my papa there?" he asked.

"Yes, my little one. Your papa is here and he will love you very much."

I knew Erik would accept Naveed, for I loved Erik and I knew he loved me back. I wished though that he was here when I was still pregnant. Because Naveed was way too small when he was due, I was forced through three extra months of pregnancy just for him to be the right size to be born. The child ever since was smaller than the average child, but he was okay for now.

In one hand I held my luggage bag, and the other my hand intertwined with my son's.

As I exited the boating dock, I met eyes with Nadir Khan, the Daroga I hadn't seen in a long time, but I knew he was my Erik's friend. I was a bit disappointed Erik himself had not come to see his beloved wife, myself, but there must have been a good reason to it.

"Hello, Khan." I bowed gently, then nudged my son forward.

"This is Naveed. Naveed, say hello to Mister Khan."

"Hello Mister Khan!" Naveed shrilled. Nadir hesitated before bowing back courteously and patting my son's head somewhat affectionately.

"Yes of course. Pleasure to see you again after all these years, Miss Soraya."

"Pleasure of course, too, Nadir Khan. Now, on the matter of Erik...where is my husband? Naveed is so eager to meet his papa." I persisted. I wanted him to tell me where he is. I needed to see him.

"Well, I've been ordered to take you to lunch first..." he scanned me top to bottom, "are you...wearing your wedding dress?" He seemed nervous and very, very uneasy around me, and I knew immediately there was something he wasn't telling me.

"Nadir...just give me the address and take Naveed to lunch. The child has been starving in Persia, he needs it more than me. Ever since you helped Erik escape the Shah has been trying to get rid of me as I am no use to him...so I have starved with my child and gave him all the scraps. I need to see Erik."

Knowing there was no use arguing with me, Nadir handed me the address on a jotted note paper and took my son's hand. I trusted the Daroga to take care of Naveed for me, as Naveed was my pride and joy.

I tried to match the strange words on the paper to signs with no prevail...until through my wanderings I found the number and babble matched onto one massive house. Without a dally, I cried to myself at last! My Erik to myself again! Naveed would have a father and we would be happy forever and ever...

I knocked on the door a few times, before this stunningly beautiful woman opened the door and smiled.

"Hello, can I help you?" she asked with a soft and gentle swedish accent.

"Erik, where is he? I need to see him-I'm his wife, Soraya." I stammered, still startled by this woman's appearance.

When she didn't reply, I began to continue speaking.

"I'm sorry, how rude of me. Are you Nadir's wife?" I added cautiously.

She shook her head, and this mournful presence glazed through her baby blue eyes.

"No, Miss Soraya, I am Erik's wife. We married last month. Do come in, he went on an errand."

My world crumbled right then and there. That's what Nadir had been hiding from me. The fact that Erik had married another without a second thought. I closed my eyes and let this woman respectfully take my hand and into her home, where she put me in a recliner and gave me a hug.

Even though somehow I felt jealous of this woman, this woman so nice and sweet and innocent, she made me a bit happy too, that she was showing so much empathy.

"I'm Christine Mulheim, I'm assuming your surname is also Mulheim?" she asked without a taste of resentment. I studied her features. Her fair white skin, those eyes, those chocolate curls. I looked nothing like her. I was managing well for someone now poor, but I was bronze-skinned with sharp, arabic green eyes built for blocking sandstorms and muscles built for herding sheep. We were almost nothing alike on the outside but something about us must be similar...I knew of Erik's tastes very well.

"Yes. I am Soraya Mulheim." I choked, knowing inside my heartbreak. A stray tear rolled down my cheek.

"Speaking on the matters of your child...I would like to meet him or her. Is Nadir with them right now?" Christine casually asked, clearly noticing my pain and trying to make chat more easy for me.

"My son's name is Naveed," I replied, wiping away my tears, "he was born three months late because he's very small. Nadir has him right now to get a nice lunch and so my son can meet his uncle. Forgive me if I seem like such an intruder...we did not fare well in Persia."

She smiled.

"That's okay, I am not going to judge you, though I am very sorry about what has happened to you in Persia. These are dark times, and I will see you and Naveed get very well taken care of and fed."

"And where is Erik at the moment?"

She paused.

"Erik is dealing with an issue in his park. He owns a big part of the island and a creation of his exploded and injured people. He is seeing that they get hospital treatment."

I gasped in alarm.

"Oh heavens...I hope they are alright!" I whimpered. Christine cocked her head in curiosity.

"Heavens? Interesting. Nadir says 'Allah' when he is upset. Are you a Christian?" she inquired. I nodded, placing my hands in my lap and suddenly enjoying the company of this Christine.

"When I was with Erik, he told me all about how he felt God had cursed his face. I studied more into this God of his and became a self-made Christian. I felt more at peace with one god than many gods." I explained. She chuckled.

"You should come pray with me at church sometime. It does get lonely with only my best friend Meg and my children."

Suddenly I was no longer uncomfortable around this woman who had touched my heart in only a few minutes with her compassionate heart. I felt guilty of my compelling jealousy...but I was still determined to keep Erik-

"Christine, I'm home! Am I back in time?"

It was him. I heard his voice yet I froze in place as he entered the room, this look of bafflement on his face as his eyes wandered at first to me, then his wife.

"Soraya..." he murmured in a trance-like phase.

"Erik." was my uttered reply. Our eyes locked dead on, and Christine must have felt lost or lonely in the passionate tension rising between us. Right then and there I wanted him to kiss me long and hard, but I knew that would not ever happen again. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying, when shortly after Nadir arrived from somewhere behind me and my son Naveed snuggled his way onto my lap.


	9. Chapter 9 - Heartbeats

**Christine**

Immediately I was fond of this Soraya as a person, but I was still determined to keep Erik no matter what. This Soraya was also a year or two younger than myself, I noted. Persia was a corrupt country. Erik had explained from the letter that Soraya had been sixteen and he twenty when they wed in Persia. Neither knew anything about child reproduction as Soraya was the Shah's sister and her mother never taught her anything, but her nanny raised her for majority of her life, and Erik had run away before his mother could explain any of it to him. Now he knew...and consequences came with it.

I knew immediately that this child was his from the moment I saw the eyes and the nose. Everything else was clearly inherited from the mother. The lithe, slender build was very feminine for a boy, but those amber orbs on his face, those all-seeing Phantom eyes, were Erik's through and through. There was no other explanation. Erik, my son, and this child were the only people on earth with those strange glowing jewels of eyes.

The way Erik cocked his head and stared at this child was remarkable. Naveed smiled to him and said a simple hello but Erik did not respond, for he was enraptured in the moment of recognizing Soraya. I did not like the flicker of regret and yearning in his gaze, but it brushed away into embarrassment and fear.

Naveed leaped onto Soraya and hugged her, talking about his wonderful lunch with Nadir. Erik shook his head in panic.

"I can't do this!" he cried in anguish, then turned and fled.

Nadir's brow furrowed.

"Erik! Come back, damn it!" he shouted irritably, chasing after him. I sighed.

"I'm sorry, Soraya. You must understand he's not taken this news easily." I tried to comfort her, but she only nodded in respect.

"Erik and I were silly, foolish children of Persia then. The Shah himself disapproved of me when I learned I was pregnant with Erik's child. We all assumed the master mason was dead, until a report was sent to my brother that he had been spotted in America by some of the men we stationed there." Soraya replied with a sip of the tea I had made her. She smiled, licking her thin lips.

"This is good tea!" she added with a grin. I smiled back.

"It's English Tea, my favorite kind. Erik had bought me a whole crate of it. You can have a jug of it if you need for your room."

I admit I was a bit uneasy that Nadir had suggested that Soraya stay in the house with us, but it was only cordial and the Shah's men would be watching our every move, so it might be best we kept her here to avoid trouble.

"So how about you? How did you meet Erik?" Soraya asked innocently.

I placed my white-rimmed cup back on the coffee table, pulling a few loose curls away from my eyes before I began to tell my tale.

"Erik went and lived in the catacombs underneath an Opera House I lived and worked at. One day he took me down there and we fell in love ever since. However, there was another man who wanted to marry me instead, so after Erik and I planned our escape to America, he tried to kill Erik. I couldn't find him until my firstborn was ready to enter the world, but I still found him here and we got married a month ago. We waited until our daughter was four to finalize...we didn't want that man to find us and hurt us ever again."

Soraya was intrigued by my story, a bit of over curiosity nonetheless, but thankfully she did not ask for anymore information. She nodded here and there, a bit sympathetically.

"I'm glad you were able to go find him. I wished so many times I could run away to go be with Erik, but as time passed I began to think maybe he had just...died..."

I felt this sad compassionate empathy for this woman. Even though there was bigamy involved here, I would not be upset with Erik for this. It was clearly the Shah of Persia's doings that caused all this drama, and none of us needed this in our lives. Soraya didn't deserve this, I didn't deserve this, Erik didn't deserve this.

.::.

**Erik**

"Erik! What are you doing! Wait!" Nadir called from somewhere nearby.

I clasped my hands over my ears as I blankly stared out of the balcony into the fresh morning air. I was catching my breath from my running up the stairs and into my bedroom on the far right wing hall. The sea was calm, gray, and I wanted to slip away right now...but I couldn't. I was constrained to my family. Oh, here I was being selfish again! Soraya and Christine were both better off without me. Why, God, why? Why put me through this ordeal...

If the Shah finds me, he'll take me, I know, and to both of them I'll be parted forever. He won't let me go...

I'll be whipped, beaten, and forced through hard, difficult labors and tasks to keep me at work. I'll probably die of starvation or dehydration before anyone could rescue me then.

"Erik, c'mon, man. Come back downstairs, relax. We can sort this all out. Okay, you have two wives. Not a big deal." Nadir shut the glass door behind me, walking out to my side.

"'Not a big deal', Nadir? Not a big deal? This is a crisis...because I love Christine and I promised to stay with her no matter what, but so long ago, I had been in love with Soraya, and I hope the flame doesn't rekindle. Whose genius plan was it to have her and that child stay here with us? That makes it harder for me, can't you see?" I whimpered like a hopeless child. Nadir rubbed my shoulders gently and supportively, before returning a stare to me.

"And here's the Phantom of the Opera, crying over women." he mocked. My face flushed red.

"I'm not as much worried about the women affair, Daroga. I'm concerned more about the Shah! If he knows where I am then his men are watching me at all times. I have no doubt the Vicomte sent him my location, or one of the thugs who attacked me the night I was separated from Christine. He sent Soraya on purpose to make me drop my guard! And the child probably isn't mine!" I continued in a babbling manner. I began to hyperventilate from my stress, which ticked Nadir off further.

"Erik, you sound like such a child," he snapped, making me shrink back, "Naveed is your son. Soraya asked me to get him some lunch, and while the child and I talked, everything he did, every little quirk about him screamed you over and over. The way he moves, his voice is unnaturally angelic, his eyes, his eyes are yours! You have another son, you are blessed. Although I notice he is very small and underdeveloped...he is yours, and now that he has a father!"

I shook my head over and over again.

"No...no! No..." I began to sob, covering my mask and the visible half of my face with my hands.

Right there I did indeed feel like a child, to the irony. I wanted to hide away in a corner, no, even better, my home underneath the catacombs of the Opera House. Oh right! I had burned that down already. That certainly doesn't help the mood.

.::.

A week would go by and I would still try my best to keep a distance from Soraya. I had this compulsive attachment to her...and I knew if I didn't stay away I would be obsessively in love with her again. Christine noticed my struggles and tried to talk to me about it when we were lying beside each other in bed, but I would turn away and refuse to admit my guilt.

I couldn't hurt her. Not now...not now...

.::.

**Soraya**

I know that Erik's afraid. I can sense it. Every little move he makes it is avoiding me or Naveed in a panic. I want him so badly...but I am most afraid that he will choose Christine over me. Come on Erik! I beg it of you to love me!

I tried unsuccessfully to talk to him yesterday.

"Erik, can I please talk this through with you? I have no hard feelings...what about me is bothering you? I can move out if you'd like."

I could see wet, glossy tears forming in his eyes, before he wiped them away and marched off in a trance-like, moony fashion, before locking himself alone in his bedroom. When he wasn't at work, he was in his bedroom. So I scooped up Naveed and went to go put him to bed.

I don't want Erik to be afraid. I want him to hold me like he used to, whisper in my ear how he loves me and will never let me go.

I still remember the night before he left.

We had made love again, and he kissed me over and over. Neither of us had regrets about our choices, but we did not know we would later have a child from these acts.

_"Oh Soraya," he murmured hungrily as I wrapped my bare arms around his scarred back. Every single scar I caressed. I tore away his mask and kissed him again, more passionately..._

_I let out a slight moan as his lips traveled to my cheek._

_"Yes, Erik?" I cooed in response, my hands skimming up to his deformed face, rubbing in circles a large, narrow scar running from his cheek and stopping before his nose. I sighed gently at his touch._

_"Did I ever tell you that you are the most beautiful person I know?"_

_I smiled. "Every day, my handsome Erik."_

And then like that he was gone. I don't think I had ever cried this much. He and Nadir vanished. Days later, Nadir Khan would reappear, but Erik was nowhere to be found. He had escaped Persia and didn't come back for me. I often wondered whether or not he would've ever come back for me, or if he had been sent away by Khan against his will. Either way, I knew and I had been in love.

But I was no longer _his_ Soraya, for his heart was stolen by another woman. A woman who was not me.


	10. Chapter 10 - Waking Nightmare

**Erik**

_"Nadir! No! I can't leave her, I love her." I cried helplessly. He continued shoving me along._

_"What's more important, Erik, your life or dying trying to stay with her? She is the Shah's family. He won't kill her, but he'll kill you. Start speaking common sense, it'll do you good." Nadir snapped._

_Unwillingly, I followed him. Soraya would be better off without me...and yet, I knew I could take her with me._

_"Let me go to the gates of town...see if she's on the inside. I know the poor are trying to get out!"_

_I galloped away on my horse. I needed her...I needed her support, her affections, her touch...Anywhere she went, I wanted to go with her. I would throw my life down at her feet._

_I looked onto the onslaught of the lower and middle class trying to get out of the court's iron gates, fighting and calling._

_"Soraya!" I yelled to no response. If she was there, her voice was drowned out by the agonizing screams of the crowd. They were kicking and howling now, and I couldn't bear it._

_Instead, I saw guards approaching the gates, alerted by these outrages, when Nadir grabbed my arm. He had rode up beside me._

_"Come ON, Erik. She's gone! Let's go." he added, a bit annoyed. I nodded, finally giving in with one teary look over my shoulder. I would never forget the faces of those cruelly treated by the Shah, crying and yelling for us to open the gates and let them out. Instead, I rode away...rode away from my guilt._

**Soraya**

_I awoke late at night, only to find Erik was gone completely. He was gone, and I was all alone. I found a solitary note._

Soraya,

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...by the time you read this I have left on a journey. Never more have I been ashamed of myself leaving you on such short notice. I love you, and my heart will always reach out to you, but if I stay I will surely meet a quick and unsettling end in the hands of your brother.

Yours forever, Erik.

_I began to cry hysterically, so loud the whole court came to find out what was wrong. My older brother shook his head, tearing my letter in pieces with fury._

_"I will kill the arrogant fool!" he declared. I screamed in alarm._

_"NO! You chased him away! He's probably dead already...with all the traps you set outside the gates. You killed my husband." I sobbed into my hands. That was it! The gates! I rushed past him, and to my relief he sent no guards as I went into the restroom. He would suspect I was fixing my hair or going to cry in privacy._

_I climbed out the window and shut it behind me. If I could just catch up to him and escape with him..._

_I made it, pushing through the crowds until I was 3 rows away from the exit, but it was blocked._

_"SORAYA!" Erik's scream alerted me, and I waved my arms in the air._

_"I'm here! Erik! I'm here!" I yelled, but the pleas of the crowd grew so loud he certainly didn't hear me. And as he rode away, I screamed and cried with my people, for we had all truly lost something..._

**Erik**

I sat at my desk, thinking for a long, long time about that finicky memory I had since buried six years ago. Now she was here...and now I had unfaithfully married.

I loved both of my wives...for different reasons, and that was why choosing one made it so hard. I loved Soraya for her fiery passion, her determination, and her undying joy. Christine was for her faith, her serene calmness, and her smile.

I sighed immensely, pulling out both of my wedding photos and smiling tearily. I couldn't help it. I was so lost, and neither could find me...there was no solution to this abyss of treachery I had long since buried myself in.

"Mail for you, Erik." Nadir interrupted my vast thoughts by shoving a letter into my hands. I tore it open without a second glance, and began to read it aloud.

"The Shah of Persia is dead."


	11. Chapter 11 - A Little Trip

**Christine**

Erik called me into the bedroom. Nadir was anxious and full of relief, as Erik was. I was shocked at their serene, calm expressions.

"Christine. The Shah of Persia...he's dead." Erik sounded overjoyed with his words. My mouth dropped open.

"That's...good?" I was confused utterly. Why would Erik want a high-powering official dead?

"It is, my dear, it is. It is the solution to our prayers. Soraya is free from his grasp as am I...we can send her and the child back and support them from there!"

My heart skipped a beat. I didn't mind Soraya, but she did indeed stand in the way of my love life.

"Soraya expects you two to raise Naveed," Nadir responded warily.

"Take a child from it's mother? Impossible!" I retorted, crossing my arms. Erik rose to his feet, wrapping his arms around my waist and smiling.

"It's done, we'll send them back and we'll make sure they get the support they need."

Erik's icy amber eyes sent a glare at Nadir, but the Persian did not back down.

"Do you hear what you're saying? Do you care what that will do to Soraya!?" he began to raise his voice, though not too loud. His hands clenched into fists.

"It's done." I echoed defensively, and smiled to Erik before pressing a kiss to his lips.

**Soraya**

I heard it all. I heard it all and for what? To discover that they were sending me back to Persia with Naveed? I wouldn't allow it! How could he! My heart tore in two. I thought I stood a chance...a chance for Erik to see I loved him still. And I would never stop loving him...

I grabbed Naveed's little red coat and wrapped it around his body, zipping it up to his chin. He frowned.

"Maman, what's wrong?" he squeaked in his tiny little voice.

"Nothing, my Naveed. Maman's going away for a while. You're going to have a father, whether he wants you or not." I spoke with gentle words, running my hand through his silky midnight hair. I pulled him into a hug, at the same time looking at my mirror across the room.

I remembered myself six years ago, with long, elegant black hair, a diamond necklace and jewel-embedded tiara, seated next to my brother and younger sister in the court...and then I remembered my first sunset lying beside Erik. I forced tears away.

Those times were gone. I was gone on the inside...that Erik was gone, but Naveed, our spawn, remained, and I would do anything in my power to save him from suffering in Persia.

I let go of my son, who was smiling now.

"I'm going to be at the docks for a little while, okay, Naveed? Hush now. We're only parted for a short time."

I placed the two objects I last needed into my velvet coat pockets before setting Naveed down on the bed. I was going to the boat docks...

I sang a small tune to myself.

_"I took a little trip to Coney Island..."_

**Erik**

The decision was made, and now I had to tell Soraya. Christine went to go play with our children, and Nadir watched me sharply as I went down the corridor. I knocked on the door.

"Soraya, I need to talk to you." I said, heart suddenly aching.

"Papa?" instead came Naveed's voice.

He...he called me...papa? I shook the tender moment out of my head, for I would never see my eldest son again.

"Naveed," I opened the door, to find him alone, "where is your mother?"

There was a cold, innocent silence.

"Maman went to the docks." Naveed shrilled, cocking his head to a side.

My eyes widened, and I exchanged a horrified glance with Nadir. The docks!? NO! NOT NOW! NOT EVER!

"Nadir, get Christine and Meg! I know what she's doing! Hurry!" I cried. I ushered Naveed to follow his uncle Nadir, biting my lip in fright.

All sorts of thoughts were running through my head. Why was she doing this? How could she? Would...could...no!

I wanted to die right then and there. I had brought this upon myself and Christine. I had brought this upon everyone when I left Soraya and became the Phantom of the Opera. And now...and now...there was everything and nothing.

I burst through the front door and began a mad scuffle through the sidewalks, pushing through crowds upon crowds of people. I couldn't see her, but Soraya was a smart girl, she would choose to go where she would not be found. I would find her! I would find her before it was too late!


	12. Chapter 12 - Song

**A/N: Here I present the final chapter of Song! I will be starting a brand new fanfic soon :)**

**If any of my loyal followers have ever seen the musical Miss Saigon, be prepared, for this fanfic will share a similar fate...**

**.::.**

**Erik**

At last, I paused by the gray ocean to a solitary dock, where I saw Soraya's back turned, her elegant hair waving in the wind. She was perched, standing right at the edge.

"Soraya! Don't do this, Soraya!" I shouted. She didn't respond, rather stood, her skin cold like a statue and unmoving. Without a second thought, I ran forward onto the creaky wooden boards, nervous they would give out.

I ceased advantage of her silence, running out from behind her and whirling her around to face me. She didn't struggle when I hugged her close to me, breathing in her warm scent, like that of honey suckles and spices.

"Erik," she murmured. I could tell she had been crying.

"I'm here. I'm here..." I whispered. I heard Nadir and the others catching up. I turned my head and smiled in relief to let them know everything was okay...

Until I felt something warm gush across my lower shirt.

I pulled back, looking down at myself first. I wasn't cut or wounded, but there was still blood.

Soraya had stabbed herself in the chest.

The blade slipped from her hands, the clattering silver bouncing against the wood and sinking into the ocean, never to be seen again.

"NO!" I screamed as she began to fall back. I caught her just in time, lowering her down to the planks and trying to press on the wound.

"Meg! Please! Get help!" Nadir yelled, rushing to my side with shock all over his olive face. Soraya was smiling faintly, her eyes closed as she took in deep breaths. I looked up tearily to Christine, who was equally as frightened as I was.

"Please hold on, Soraya, you won't die, you won't die...you can't die! I just found you again!" I cried, shuddering as I sobbed uneasily. Soraya's jade eyes stared into mine, and for once she was at peace and quiet.

"I had to. You wouldn't take care of Naveed any other way." she whispered. I mournfully scooped her up in her weak state, just enough so that our faces were inches apart.

I leaned down and kissed her. I knew now it was my fault. It was all my fault. Our kiss was mingled with our tears, and at last she stilled. I lain her back onto the dock, sobbing now into my hands. The little child, Naveed, rested his head on her stomach. I don't know why he was there, but he was.

At last, he lifted his face to see mine. This was my son. This was my son and he was my own. Gustave and Lucinda were my children, but they weren't like Naveed. Naveed would be alone without me.

His little hands grasped the edge of my mask, and I let him pull it off and stare at my hideous deformity. His hand brushed every twisted scar as I wept uncontrollably. He was my own...and he hugged me.

I hugged him back for the longest time. Soraya's dying wish was for me to take care of the boy...and I would.

For I loved both Soraya and Naveed...

Forever.

**Christine**

"I'm not a kid, anymore, mother." Naveed teased me. I placed a kiss on his forehead. He may not have been born to me, but he was my son and I had grown to love him as much as all of my children. He was my eldest child and had four siblings: Lucinda, Gustave, Annabeth, and Wendy.

It had been twelve years since Soraya died, and nine since Erik passed away. I don't even know if Naveed remembers his real mother anymore.

"Naveed," I said with sternness in my tone, "You do well in college. You would make your papa proud."

He smiled. All the money Erik had left as Mister Y, and the money I still make with Nadir and Meg in our company, Phantasma Theater Productions, helped us raise enough for both of our families to send all our children to one of the colleges of America. Naveed wanted to be an actor, just like his father.

And then, Naveed hopped in carriage and was gone, not after all his goodbyes and farewell's. He was just like Erik and Soraya in every way.

I missed my Erik. I missed him so much, but I knew in heaven he'd be happy, for he was at last with Soraya.

In my heart, I guess I'd always known that although he loved me very much, his heart followed after the Khanum's daughter, his jewel, his treasure, his Soraya. I was his Christine, but his heart was padlocked and chained to Soraya, and after she died, I think in his heart he had given up and died too.

I passed the docks that night after Naveed left for college. I walked by and smiled, as I swore I could hear Soraya and Erik singing.

_"The sea is calm, the sea is gray, it washes everything away..."_

Their song was the ocean, their song was the sky.

Their song was true love, and I had found it and loved every moment.

And when the song ends, another song will begin. It's just waiting for the right moment to be reborn.

**-The End.-**


	13. Author's Note Reviewing Advice

An author's note:

Hello! I hope you all have switched over to Daughter of the Phantom by now! :)

It has been brought to my attention by an anonymous guest that my story "sucks" and is "unrealistic and out of character."

I advise my loyal readers to find online the musical Miss Saigon before reading and understanding this. The following characters from Phantom were fused with the personalities and traits of Miss Saigon characters:

Erik received traits and corresponded to Chris.

Christine corresponded to Ellen.

Soraya, my OC, was Kim.

So before you hate (in fact, no one should ever be hateful in a review, they should pinpoint faults CONSTRUCTIVELY and offer ways to correct the story) on me, please consider that maybe there is a reason the character has changed, etc. Sorry I can't please everyone.

Have a good day.

-PhantomLilac.


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